HHS allots $75 million to states for pandemic planning

Aug 30, 2007 (CIDRAP News) – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a one-time allocation of $75 million in grants to help states, territories, and four metropolitan areas prepare for an influenza pandemic.

In a news release, HHS said the money is to be used to establish or expand stockpiles of critical medical equipment and supplies; continue developing plans for maintaining, distributing, and sharing those resources; plan for and develop alternative sites for providing healthcare in a pandemic; and conduct medical surge exercises.

The funding will supplement the $430 million allocation HHS announced on Jun 28 to help hospitals and other healthcare facilities prepare to respond to bioterrorism attacks, infectious disease outbreaks, and natural disasters that could cause mass casualties, the agency said.

"The additional funding will provide our nation's health care community with a means to continue planning, training and acquiring needed equipment for an effective pandemic response," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said in the news release.

The grants for states range from $352,673 for Wyoming to $5.48 million for California. The metropolitan areas with separate grants include Washington, DC, $364,024; Chicago, $836,685; New York City, $1.9 million; and Los Angeles County, $2.27 million.